COMEDY writer Stuart Dur-bin thinks he has found the perfect formula for an award-winning sitcom by basing it in Swindon.

Stuart, 33, has reached the final four in a BBC writing competition with his script Billie Piper Comes from Swin-don.

It caught the eye of judges who sifted through 5,500 entries and saw the potential in Stuart's work.

The unemployed writer lives in Bristol but decided that Swindon would be the perfect setting for the story.

The script is about a group of young Swindon teenagers and their struggle to do something they wanted to do with their lives. The hero of the story is Lee, who decides to gatecrash the Beaufort Hunt to impress his girlfriend.

Stuart said: "Swindon has a bit of a downtrodden image. I thought it had good comic potential.

"Lee lives in a flat in Swin-don and the sitcom is basically about the ups and downs of his life.

"The reference to Billie comes because it is one of the things Swindon is famous for. I just thought the judges might like it because it is quirky."

The script has already been staged in a theatre in Soho as part of the competition and Stuart's work will be shown as a one-off special on the BBC if he wins the competition.

Stuart said: "I am not doing down Swindon. I quite like the place, especially Old Town.

"I have lots of friends there and I often go there to watch bands play.

"Hopefully this comedy might make more people aware of Swindon.

"It is supposed to be an affectionate look at life there rather than put it down."

Stuart decided to make a go at writing after graduating from Sussex University.

He entered the BBC Nat-ional Talent competition in the hope of furthering his career.

He said: "I am giving it a go. I have written a couple of pieces for Griff Rhys Jones which have been used, so hopefully I am getting somewhere."